Apparatus for rendering floor tile pliant



April 1958 J. c. SIGNORE, JR 2,831,096

APPARATUS FOR RENDERING FLOOR TILE PLIANT Filed May 20, 1955 IN VEN TOR.

37 JAME C. 5|GNORE,JR

14 TTOENE Y$ APPARAT FGR RENDERING FLOOR TILE PLIANT James C. Signor-e, In, Ellicottville, N. Y.

Application May Ill, 1955, Serial No. 509,999

Claims. (Cl. 219-19) The present invention is concerned with devices for temporarily minimizing the rigidity of floor tiles of an asphalt or plastic base and is more particularly concerned with apparatus for rendering such tile pliable at the time of its application to a floor surface.

At the present time there is being widely utilized small pieces of flooring generally in the form of squares known as floor tile for forming a wearing surface for floors. These tiles are of three types, namely asphalt, plastic or rubber base and are of a rigid or semi-rigid nature tending, particularly in the asphalt and plastic tiles, towards a brittleness which renders the tiles somewhat difficult to lay on slightly uneven fioor surfaces. Application of heat to the asphalt and plastic tiles under controlled conditions renders the tiles temporarily pliant whereby they may be more easily applied to a surface and made to conform to the general contour thereof. The asphalt and plastic ingredients forming these tiles are of a thermo setting nature whereupon they resume their original rigidity upon a return to room temperature.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a portable device which is economical to produce and safe to use for the purpose of applying heat to floor tiles to render the same flexible without permanently changing the physical or chemical characteristics.

A further and important object of the invention is to provide a device for rendering floor tile temporarily pliant under controlled conditions as to temperature and time and which tile can be quickly and readily introduced to the device, treated and ejected therefrom for being immediately available for application to 'a floor surface.

A still further and equally important object of the invention is to provide apparatus for giving floor tile a desired pliability through raising the temperature within the tile by applying an even heat to both sides of the tile at temperatures controllable by the operator thereof.

Further objects of the invention will be inpart obvious and in part' pointed out from the following description of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. -l is apcrspective view of one form of the present apparatus.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the apparatus taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detailed perspective view of one housing forming part of the present apparatus and having a corner broken away.

Fig. 4 is a wiring diagram of a heating arrangement for the apparatus.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of the apparatus; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a-further modification of the apparatus.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings wherein like and corresponding parts are indicated by similar reference characters, numeral 1 indicates a relatively fiat base formed of a rigid sheet material having its marginal edges bent forming a downwardly extending leg 2 from which extends a foot 3 substantially parallel to base 1, while a further leg 4 extends downwardly from the opposite longitudinal side of said base from which likewise extends a foot 5 also substantially parallel to base 1. A housing 6 formed of a rigid sheet material has laterally extending bent end portions forming walls 7 and 8 between which extend a bottom marginal portion 9. Openings 10 are formed through a top portion of said lateral walls while openings 11 are formed through bottom 9.

Within said housing 6 there is placed a sheet 12 of heat insulating and fire resistant material, such as asbestos, and in front of said sheet material there is mounting a heating element, which for the purpose of an example only, is shown as consisting of a mica 13 mounted on legs 14 and 15 attached to said housing 6, while an electrical resistant element 16 extends around said sheet 13 for producing heat when electrical current is passed therethrough. Guard wires 17 extend from the outer edges of walls 7 and 8.

Housing 6 extends substantially perpendicular from base 1 and a similar housing 18 likwise extends from said base substantially parallel to, but spaced from housing 6. Housing 18 is similar to housing 6 having lateral end walls 8' and 9 extending towards but spaced from walls 7 and. 3 of housing 6, sheet 12' of heat and fire resistant material mounted therein and a similar heating element consisting of mica sheet 13' and electrical resistant element 16' supported by legs 14' and 15' connected to housing 18. Guard wires 17 also extend from the free edges of walls 7' and 8'.

A top cover 19 also of a rigid sheet material has sides 21 and 21' for fitting over said housings 6 and 18, ends 22 and 22' for fitting over walls 7, 7, 8 and 8' with. rivets 23 extending through openings 10 for fastening the cover to said housings. A handle 24 is mounted upon the top of said cover.

An elongated trackway 25 also of a rigid sheet material and having a substantially U-shaped cross sectional configuration is mounted upon base 1 between the bottom portions of housings 6 and 18.

The control handle 26 is mounted through leg 2 for operating a rheostat 27 interconnected in an electrical circuit connected to resistance elements 16 and 16' for controlling the current passing therethrough and accordingly the amount of heat given off by said elements.

Rivets 28 extend through openings 11 of bottoms 9 and 9 of housings'6 and 18 respectively for fastening the same in their position on base 1.

In the apparatus hereinbefore described, the heating element has been indicated as being of an electrical heater, but it is to be appreciated that other heating Inez: equally as well be employed and in Pig. 6 of the drawings. there is shown as a further example the use of a pair of perforated cylinders 30 mounted in the bottoms of nousings 6 and 8 in lieu of the electrical heating elements 33 and 13. Cylinders 30 are jointly connected to a control valve 31 suitable for being connected to a source of gas whereby a gas fed flame can be used for providing the heating in'each housing. Grills 32 are mounted across the outer ends of walls 7and8 and 7' and 8' for screening the resultant flame and preventing the same from contacting objects therebetween.

In the use of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, control knob 26 is turned to a desired setting after the circuit has been connected to a source of electrical current whereby the elements 16 and 16' which are facing one another will direct heat rays into the space between housings 6 and 18. A floor tile (not shown) can be inserted between end Walls 8 and 8 or 7 and 7' onto the trackway 25 whereby it will be equally subjected to heat from opposite sides thereof whereby its internal temperature will be raised making the same pliant and when it has 3 reached the desired condition of flexibility, a further tile can be inserted therebehind forcing the first tile from the apparatus whereupon it can be laid upon the floor and conform to the surface thereof. After returning to room temperature, the tile will return to its former rigidity.

The apparatus of Fig. 6 is operated in a similar manner in that after connecting valve 31 to a source of gas, the valve is adjusted to introduce the required amount of gas to cylinders whereupon the lighting of the gas will produce the required heat within the apparatus and the screens 32 will prevent the flame from contacting the tile therebetween.

In Fig. 5, there is shown a base 35 similar to base 1 and formed of a rigid sheet material with bent marginal edges forming legs 36, foot 37 on one side thereof and leg 38 with foot 39 on the opposite side thereof. Feet 37 and 39 extend substantially parallel to base 35.

Fixedly mounted upon base 35 is a housing 40 which may be similar to housing 6 or may be of an enclosed nature as shown in the drawing, having a top 41 along which extend a pair of tracks 42 and 43.

A further closed housing 44 is mounted above but substantially parallel to housing 40 and has side walls 45 and a lifting handle 46. Also housing 44 has end walls 47 and 48 which extend downwardly and substantially perpendicular from base 35 and are connected by rivets 49 to housing 40. A control 50 is shown mounted on leg 36 for operating a rheostat and heating elements in housings 40 and 44 similar to rheostat 27 and heating elements 13 and 13'. Also insulation such as 12 and 12' can be mounted in said housings against their outer sides. However, other heating elements such as the gas fed cylinders 30 of Fig. 6 can also be used in this form of apparatus.

In operation a flooring tile is introduced on to one end of the tracks 42 and 43 to within the apparatus after control knob 50 has been set for producing the required heat. After the floor tile has been raised to a given temperature sufiicient for causing the same to become pliable to the degree required, a further tile can be introduced, pushing the first tile from the apparatus.

The rigid sheet material referred to herein for forming the various elements of the apparatus can be metallic and particularly aluminum or cold rolled steel with a baked on enamel finish being examples of such material suitable for this purpose.

The apparatus described herein are capable of considerable modification and such changes thereto as come within the scope of the appended claims are deemed to be a part of the invention.

I claim:

1. A portable apparatus for rendering floor tiles temporarily pliant, comprising a pair of housing members positioned side by side, but being spaced apart along their entire length providing a passageway open at both ends and of a configuration for receiving an entire floor tile therebetween, a base having said housing members mounted thereon, a trackway fixedly mounted on said base and extending in the length of said passageway between said members for slidably supporting and guiding the floor tile when passing between said members from one of said open ends to the other, means for producing heat at a desired and controlled temperature each mounted in one of said housing members, said housing members each having an opening exposing its heating element to one side of a tile on said trackway, and means permitting the manual lifting of the apparatus.

2. A portable apparatus for rendering floor tiles temporarily pliant comprising a pair of plates each having lateral walls extending from an edge portion thereof, a supporting base, said plates being positioned on said base with said lateral walls of each plate extending towards, but spaced from the lateral walls of the other plate providing a passageway for said tile which is open at both ends, heating elements mounted on said plates within said lateral walls, heat insulating means positioned between said plates and said heating means, means mounted on said base for supporting and guiding a fioor tile in its movement through said passageway between said lateral walls and means for controlling the temperature of said heating elements.

3. A portable apparatus for rendering floor tiles temporarily pliant comprising a base, a pair of spaced apart plates mounted on said base substantially perpendicular thereto and substantially parallel to one another, each of said plates having bent end portions extending towards a similar end portion of the other of said plates, but spaced therefrom providing a passageway for said tile extending the length of said plates and open at both ends, a cover extending from the top of one plate to the top of the opposite plate and connecting the same, a trackway extending longitudinally of said passage and between the lower portion of said plates for supporting a floor tile moved therealong and heating means positioned between the bent end portions of each plate for raising the internal temperature of the tile passing on said trackway to a desired degree.

4. A portable apparatus for rendering floor tiles temporarily pliant comprising a fiat base of sheet material with bent portions forming downwardly extending legs, a pair of rectangular walls of sheet material each having laterally bent edge portions with one edge portion mounted on said base supporting its respective wall substantially perpendicular to said base, said walls being positioned substantially parallel each with their bent edge portions extending towards, but spaced from the similar edge portion of the other wall, a cover of sheet material mounted on and extending between the tops of said walls, a substantially U-shaped trackway mounted on said base and extending longitudinally between said walls for supporting a floor tile and controlled heating means mounted on each wall between its bent edge portions.

5. A portable apparatus for rendering floor tiles temporarily pliant comprising a base plate having bent end portions forming supporting legs for spacing said base plate from a supporting surface, a hollow housing of a size for receiving a floor tile thereon having a side thereof fixedly mounted on said base plate positioning said housing in a substantially horizontal position, a second hollow housing having a pair of projecting side walls extending substantially perpendicular to and fixedly mounted on said base plate positioning said second housing spaced above said first housing providing an open end passageway for the tile therebetween, a plurality of tracks mounted on said first-mentioned housing in said passageways for slidably supporting tile passing therethrough, and means for heating said tile positioned in each of said housings- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,480,084 Lamb Jan. 8, 1924 1,963,924 Smith June 19, 1934 2,223,034 Fuchs Nov. 26, 1940 2,622,680 Takubik Dec. 23, 1952 2,694,135 Brockmole Nov. 9, 1954 2,713,108 Hearn July 12, 1955 

